When Offenses Turn to Stone: Breaking the Stony Ground of the Soul

Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives examines the problem of offenses through the parable of the sower, showing how “stony ground” — buried hurts and bitterness — prevents the Word of God from taking root. He engages with Jordan Peterson’s idea of aiming upward and contrasts cultural therapies (digging up the past, legal atonement) with an Anabaptist approach rooted in Cain and Abel, household teachings in the New Testament, and the call to redeem time by sacrificial well‑doing. Listeners will hear biblical diagnosis, vivid examples (including Naaman’s servant girl), and a practical summons: break the stones by offering your best, resist bitterness, and let sacrificial obedience restore fertile ground for faith.